: My Colt Ocean quartz is Chronometer certified,
: and hasn't lost a second in the past 6
: months
This raises an interesting point. If you look up the definition of the word "chronometer" there is never a mention of the fact that it is a clock or watch that is either automatic / mechanical or certified by a Swiss agency. This, however, has come to mistakenly be accepted as the industries definition. In reality, a "chronometer" is merely defined as an instrument for measuring the passage of time. So by definition, any device that measures time is by literal definition, a chronometer regardless of the absence of hang tags and certificates. Likewise, it does not matter that it is more electronic than mechanical. I suspect even the Swiss certifying agency is aware of this or they would not certify Breitling quartz movements as "chronometers". I suspect someone has registers the word "chronometer" as a legal trademark as well so that a company cannot simply write "chronometer" on the face of their watches without having the watch certified first. That would also prevent other certifying agencies from popping up in other countries unless they want to write something besides the word "chronometer" on the dials.